1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to the field of beverage container lids. More particularly, the invention pertains to versatile and biodegradable beverage container lids.
2. Description of Related Art
Beverage container lids for beverage containers holding hot beverages are known in the art.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,488,173, entitled “Beverage Container Lid Having Baffle Arrangement for Liquid Cooling” and issued Dec. 3, 2002 to Milan, discloses a removable beverage container lid. The lid has a substantially enclosed space defined between an exterior cover and an interior cover. An inlet opening is formed in the interior cover directing a hot beverage to flow into the substantially enclosed space. A partition or wall assembly with a height extending to be located substantially against the exterior cover and a length at least equal to the length of an inlet opening is attached to the interior cover at the forward edge of the inlet opening. A gap area is located between the partition or wall assembly and the peripheral edge of the exterior cover. A dispensing opening formed in the exterior cover is connected with the gap area. Hot beverage is required to flow around the partition or wall assembly and into the gap area prior to flowing through the dispensing opening exteriorly of a beverage container.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0108006, entitled “Beverage Container Lid Having Liquid Cooling Effect” by Milan and published Apr. 30, 2009, discloses a lid for a beverage container including external and internal covers, which, when coupled together, define a cooling reservoir between them to receive and cool hot liquids that may be held in the beverage container. The external cover includes ventilation holes and a dispensing spout for dispensing the liquid to the user. The internal cover includes walls used for directed the hot liquid that enters from the beverage container. Entrance apertures are located in the interior cover to allow the hot liquid to enter the reservoir. Dispensing walls cooperate to direct the hot liquid entering through the entrance apertures and to separate the hot liquid from cooled liquid exiting the reservoir through a dispensing aperture in the spout.
The above-mentioned patent publications are hereby incorporated by reference herein.
Beverage container lids for beverage containers holding cold beverages are also known in the art.
Plastic beverage container lids have been conventionally prepared from polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, polystyrene, and other resins. Although some of the lids prepared from these resins have excellent transparency, these lids have a very low rate of degradation and thus remain semi-permanently when discarded as refuse and buried under the ground. Disposal of these beverage container lids in the ocean causes aesthetic damage or destruction of the living environment of marine organisms.
Conventional beverage container lids are not made from lactic acid-based polymers. On processing a lactic acid-based polymer by conventional molding methods, such as compression molding (thermoforming) and injection molding, the polymer does not provide beverage container lids having sufficient impact strength for practical use as transparent or non-transparent beverage container lids.